The Long Run

End of term is finally here and BOY HAS IT BEEN STRESSFUL AND LONG!!, University is closed, all the ‘6 wings for 2.99’ places are closed, everyone went home as soon as the first Saturday came, so you can say it is officially Christmas and a month off sounds like heaven!! Except that it’s not!! They tell you to have happy holidays but would someone tell me what is so happy about having to stay at uni for an extra 2 weeks to get more work done? Reading sources, and then re-reading sources, honestly, the highlighter has become my best friend! The workload is never ending, the printing credit is never enough and as soon as I’ve ticked something off my list and deemed it completed, that frown that’s about to turn upside down…doesn’t. It’s like there is always something to do, feeling like I’m far behind has become a consistent emotion lately, and when stress is surrounding me everything seems impossible! … But that’s what drives me to want to achieve this degree!! Graduate with that hat and prove everyone wrong because I made it!

What I’m trying to say is, it probably feels like the end of the world right now facing all these final end of term deadlines, exams, dissertation proposal/chapters all due for the next couple of weeks but all this work and these deadlines are just hurdles you need to overcome! There are always going to be obstacles, you’ve just got to work your way around them! Everyone has a breakdown where they think they can’t manage anymore, believe me! I was going through it last week and my poor sister had to be at the other end of it, consoling me and proving that I could do it!! It’s not a bad thing to have a helping hand, to have someone there for motivation, to talk to someone, or just for reassurance, always remember, everyone is in the same boat, if it isn’t work they’re trying to tackle it’s something else and the only way to get through it is by following the rule ‘a problem shared, is a problem halved’, because we are all in this together, we’re not competing, we’re side by side and I hope we all make it!!

My sister gave me some useful advice (during my breakdown), she said to put everything into perspective at this stage was simply to think of the future. The journey is tiresome, difficult and emotional, but in the long run it will all pay off, right now you may regret going out, missing an epic night out but there are going to be more nights to come! At the moment, focus is key, your friends aren’t going to leave you for wanting to do well, if anything they shall be supportive! Nobody is saying that you need to chain yourself to a room and never leave, it’s healthy to have a social and work balance but what I’m trying to put in to perspective is that if you want that empire, that independent luxurious living, something you’ve earned and that you can call your own, then don’t worry about these late nights, long hours, stressful weeks working because in the long run what is coming ahead is what counts, and that my friend is success.

Have a lovely Christmas, ya filthy animals! It’ll all be worth it in the long run!!